Doug
Paterson's Music Projects...

Kakai Kilonzo and Les
Kilimambogo Brothers Band

Throughout the 1970s and
80s, Kakai Kilonzo had immense popularity in Kenya and East Africa for his clever
songs and down to earth dance music. Kakai and group played Kenya's benga style,
but with sensibilities of their Kamba background from the area to the east of
Nairobi. There are some superb music jams in the extended solos. Kakai passed
away in 1987 but the music is as fresh as today.

I first heard Kakai and
his group back in September, 1985 at Mateso Bila Chuki bar in Nairobi's Eastleigh
neighborhood. It was an all night affair that featured many of the the great
Kamba bands of the day. I subsequently came to know Kakai from our many meetings
at Studio Sawa Sawa. For these two CDs, my role was to restore the original
recordings to CD quality. I also edited all the songs that were divided into
two parts (sides A and B of the 45rpm vinyl) so that they would play as one
continuous track. In addition to writing the booklet notes, my
wife and I also provided full song transcriptions and translations from Kamba
and Swahili languages to English.

The Kenyan music
scene is one of the most diverse and vibrant in Africa. However, ask any
Kenyan which pop music style truly represents Kenya as a nation and there
is only one possible answer: benga.

Benga is a pop
style with its roots in traditional rhythms, instruments, and melodies.
Luo musicians from western Kenya brought the style to prominence in the
late 60s but other cultural/linguistic groups in other parts of Kenya quickly
developed their own localized variants. With its pulsing beat, interlocking
guitars, extended solos, and rapid-fire bass, benga music (while having
its ups and downs) has dominated the Kenyan music scene over most of the
post-colonial period. Yet, as a "national" style, it is an interesting fact
that very few benga performers have ever developed a national following.
Most, singing in their own regional languages, have little appeal outside
their own cultural/tribal groups.

Kakai Kilonzo
is one of the rare ones whose benga music was enjoyed by people all across
Kenya and beyond. To simple but catchy melodies, Kakai wrote lyrics that
were interesting and relevant to the Kenyan experience. His songs offered
social commentary, often with humor or bewilderment; songs that the common
folk could relate to whether living in the cities or rural areas. Kakai
wrote about relationships between men and women, between rich and poor,
problems within families and between neighbors. He interpreted the political
and cultural landscape to the delight of fans across Kenya. While he continued
to write songs in his native Kamba language throughout his career, it was
his adept use of Swahili in his lyrics that endeared him to a broader audience
across Kenya.

Kakai's first
recordings were released in 1975 as the Kilimambogo Brothers Band. In 1978,
the group split into two with Kakai's group changing its name to Les Kilimambogo
Brothers or simply, Les Kilimambogo. Throughout the 80s, Les Kilimambogo
flourished with nearly three dozen singles and at least ten cassette releases.
Sadly, while still at the peak of his career, Kakai was taken ill in early
1987 and he passed away a few weeks later in February at the age of 32.
Aside from Mama Sofi, released circa 1983, most of the other songs
on Best of Kakai Volume One come from his last recordings during the period
1985-86. At this time, 45 rpm vinyl records were still a major part of the
music business in Kenya. Thus, for recordings, songs were structured to
fit the length of a 45rpm single.

In Kenya, this
meant that after about 4 minutes 40 seconds, the song would be faded out.
However, it was a common practice to extend the song in a largely rhythmic
and instrumental jam that would be placed on the B side of the disc. Usually
both sides were done in one take with the band playing through a fade-out
at the end of part one and then continuing for a fade-in to part two. All
but the last song on Best of Kakai Volume One have this two-part structure.
Another interesting aspect of song construction is the distinct break that
occurs after the verses have been sung. This usually takes place about 2
to 3 minutes into the piece. The rhythm or chord pattern may change and
a different perspective on the subject might be voiced by the "public."

Benga
music is Kenya's own, home grown, pop music style that developed in the
mid-60s with Luo musicians from western Kenya and quickly spread to other
parts of the country in locally distinct versions. Across Kenya, benga
is characterized by bright interlocking guitar parts, active bass lines,
and a pulsing kick-drum (after its introduction in the 1970s). Lyrics
in local languages and melodies reflecting local traditions give benga
its regional flavors. These differences tend to place a boundary around
musicians' audiences. Though benga is the national style, benga musicians
typically have few fans outside their particular linguistic and cultural
groups.

Kakai
Kilonzo is one of only a handful of benga artists to attract a broad following
across Kenya. He opened up his music to others outside his Kamba language
and background by singing in Swahili, which is widely understood throughout
Kenya. At the same time, with catchy melodies and engaging lyrics, Kakai
sang about subjects that all Kenyans can relate to: songs on all aspects
of love and marriage, on social responsibility, societal ills (like drinking
and witchcraft), moral guidelines, national unity, economic development,
and more.

Born
in 1954, Kakai had a rather austere childhood. There was little money
around his home and his schooling was cut short by his step-father's refusal
or inability to pay school fees beyond his third year of primary school.
Kakai joined the labor force as a herdsman looking after the livestock
of various neighbors and relatives. It was during this time in the late
60s that he made his first guitar out of a large metal can and started
singing and composing. It was not until 1972 that he met Joseph Sila,
soon to be one of the founding members of Kilimambogo Brothers Band, from
whom he bought his first real guitar.

As
Kakai progressed as a guitarist and composer, he began to perform for
events like weddings and dances. It was at a dance in his home village
in June, 1973 that he met Joseph Mwania, another primary figure in what
became Kilimambogo Brothers. Kakai and Mwania were both working at Kenya
Canners at the time so they decided to room together and work on their
music in their free time. After several months of this, they quit to devote
full time to their music. Soon, they were in Nairobi, living at Sila's
place and working on strategies to promote their music. This included
knocking on the gates of the Voice of Kenya to see if they could get an
audition with any of the music presenters. It got them appearances on
both radio and television. However, it was more than a year later, in
December, 1974, when they finally got their first studio recordings made.
The first few songs were sold outright to producers to raise cash and
get their music out to the world. Finally, in 1976, they had raised sufficient
funds to start their own Kilima Mbogo Brothers label. The initial releases
were in Kamba, but after two months, they put out the first of Kakai's
many Swahili-language compositions. That song, titled Kijana Hatari,
is contained in this collection.

The
Best of Kakai Volume 1 introduced Kakai and Les Kilimambogo to the world
with a sampling of mature, long-form recordings from the mid-80s. This
compilation, Volume 2, provides a little bit wider perspective on Kakai's
music both in style, time frame, and subject matter. We start among his
very first releases in 1976 and move ahead through the years up to 1984.
Unlike Volume 1, most of the songs on Volume 2 were structured to fit
as a complete 4 to 5 minute piece on one side of the original 45 rpm disc.
A few of the songs from the later years were recorded in the extended
two-part form common in the 1980s. One of those we offer as an eight and
a half-minute combined version of Punguza Ulevi.

Core
members of the Kilimambogo Brothers Band in 1978 were: Kakai Kilonzo (vocal
and guitar), Joseph Mwania (vocal and bass), Joseph Sila (vocal and guitar),
Francis Danger (rhythm guitar and drums), and John Chuma (vocal). Shortly
after this time, the Sila and Mwania parted company from Kakai to form
Original Kilimambogo. Kakai renamed his group Les Kilimambogo (Brothers)
and continued with great success through the 1980s up to the point of
his illness and untimely death in early 1987.